UC-NRLF SB 113 57M SELECTIONS FROM THE MISCELLANEOUS WORKS ARCHBISHOP LEIGHTON. THE WISDOM OF OUR FATHERS. SELECTIONS MISCELLANEOUS WORKS ARCHBISHOP LEIGHTON; CONSISTING OF SERMONS, EXPOSITIONS, AND ACADEMICAL ADDRESSES. WITH A MEMOIR. LONDON : THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY ; DEPOSITORIES, 56, PATERNOSTER ROW, 65, ST. PAUI/S CHURCHYARD, AND 164, PICCADILLY; AND SOLD BY THE BOOKSELLERS. PREFACE. THOUGH Leighton's Commentary upon the First Epistle of Peter has long held a high place amongst our Sacred Classics, his other works are comparatively little known. This may be partly accounted for by the fact that he printed nothing himself. It was only after his death that his writings were collected and published. They were not intended for publication, and are of very unequal merit. The whole would have been held in higher estimation if a selection had been made, and some had been allowed to go down into the oblivion to which the pious author designed them. Besides which, they have never had the benefit of that careful correction and re- vision which the Commentary has received, and which Dr Doddridge declared to be " the most faulty piece of print- ing he ever remembered to have seen in any language." Doddridge went on to say, " Considering what an em- barrassment it is to common readers to see commas, colons, and periods placed almost in a promiscuous disorder, without any regard to their proper signification, which is the case here at least in every ten lines, I determined to go over the whole, pen in hand, and cor- rect every page as I would have done a proof from the press." The typographical faults of Leighton's Miscel- 292376 VI PREFACE. laneous Works require a revision as careful and complete as that bestowed on the Commentary, whilst their great and rare excellence is such as amply to repay it. In preparing the present volume for the press, the editor has adopted the following method : j. Those portions of Leighton's Miscellaneous Works which seemed to possess the greatest value have been selected for publication. Many lectures and expositions, scarcely inferior in merit, have indeed been omitted. But it was thought desirable that the size and price of the volume should be such as to bring it within the reach of all. 2. Clauses or sentences which tended to weaken or obscure the sense have occasionally been removed from the text. When it is remembered that Leighton's manuscripts were prepared, not for the press, but for the pulpit, and that they were never revised by him, it is thought that this was not an unwarrantable liberty to take. 3. The punctuation, the arrangement of sentences and paragraphs, and the classification of the heads and divisions of the discourses, have been carefully corrected, so as to remove the confusion caused by want of atten- tion to these important points in former editions. It is hoped that the publication of this volume will not only extend the reputation of the devout and gifted author, but will promote the great cause to which he devoted his life the glory of God and the good of man. MEMOIR. ONE of the most remarkable discoveries of modern science is the fact that hurricanes revolve round a centre of perfect calm. Outside the charmed circle, the tempest may rage furiously within it, all is peace. A similar phenomenon can be found in the moral and spiritual world. In seasons of civil war or theological strife, when " envy, hatred, and all uncharitableness" abound, we may find some tranquil spirits who, undisturbed by the tumult around, seem perpetually to hear their Master whis- pering to them words of peace. Such a man was Robert Leighton. Though his lot was cast in the stormi- est period of our history, though by his family con- nexions and his ecclesiastical position he was placed in the very centre of the fiercest strifes of contending parties, both in Church and State, yet "the peace of God which passeth all understanding" kept his " heart and mind." He experienced in its fulness and power the truth of the gracious assurance, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee." No text was more habitually on his lips than the words of Isaiah^ " In returning and rest shall ye be saved ; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength." The secret and the source of this " perfect peace " will appear in the following brief sketch of his life. Viil MEMOIR. Dr Alexander Leighton, the father of the future archbishop, was one of the most prominent and violent disputants in that stormy time. Having become ob- noxious to the dominant party, he retired to Holland, and there published Sion's Plea against Prelacie. On return- ing to England he was arrested on a warrant issued by Laud, consigned to a loathsome dungeon in Newgate, into which no light was admitted save what came in, together with the rain, through a hole in the roof, and where he was overrun with rats and other vermin. After a protracted imprisonment in this horrible cell, he was sentenced to pay a fine of a thousand pounds, to be twice pilloried, twice publicly whipped, to have his nose slit on both sides, his ears cut off, and to be branded on the cheeks with the letters S. S., denoting Sower of Se- dition. Having been thus miserably mutilated, he was again cast into prison, where he remained for nearly ten years, when he was liberated by order of the Long Parliament. Robert Leighton was the eldest son of this sufferer for conscience 5 sake. He was born in the year 1611, probably at Edinburgh. Upon most minds the effect of injuries such as these inflicted upon a father would have been passionate indignation against the persecut- ors. This he doubtless did feel in some measure, but the more lasting result was the deeply-rooted horror of persecution in every form which he carried with him to the grave. He entered the University of Edinburgh in his six- teenth year; and even at that early age he was remark- able for his piety. Having distinguished himself by proficiency in his studies, he took his degree in 1631, and soon afterwards went abroad, where he remained MEMOIR. IX for some years, residing principally at Douay in France, where a branch of his family had settled. On his re- turn to Scotland in 1641 he received ordination^ and, at the unanimous invitation of the congregation, was appointed to the parish of Newbattle near Edinburgh. Here he spent some of the happiest years of his life in the diligent discharge of his duties, in the enjoyment of the beautiful and romantic scenery of the valley of the Esk in which his parish was situated, and in the con- genial society of his neighbours, the Earl of Lothian and his pious family. Leighton was no slothful or hireling shepherd. In addition to the services of the sabbath, he preached or lectured several times through the week, and was as- siduous in pastoral work, assembling the families in each household for religious and catechetical instruction. The young engaged his especial care. By precept, by example^ and by prayer, he promoted personal, do- mestic, social, and public piety to the utmost of his power. Partly from his natural aversion to scenes of strife and contention, partly too from his devotion to the work of the ministry, he very seldom attended the meetings of the presbytery, in which much angry con- troversy prevailed. He was however present on one occasion, as the following anecdote will show. It was customary at these meetings to demand from each minister whether he " preached to the times," that is to say, whether he discussed public affairs in the pulpit. Each one had given a satisfactory answer in the affirm- ative. Leighton, on being interrogated in his turn, adroitly replied, " If all the brethren have preached to the times, may not one poor brother be suffered to preach on eternity ?" X MEMOIR. Whilst at Newbattle, his father died, and he came into possession of a thousand pounds. As it was not very safely invested, his brother wrote urging him to take steps to have security for it. This however involved a journey to London, then a long and difficult under- taking. Leighton replied, admitting the wisdom of the advice, but saying that unless some other business called him away from Newbattle he should not leave his work for such a reason. The result was the loss of the money by the failure of the merchant in whose hands it was placed. The spirit in which he received intelligence of his loss was characteristic. He wrote in reply : " Your kind advice I cannot but thank you for, but I am not easily taught that lesson. I confess it is the wiser way to trust nobody j but there is so much of the fool in my nature, as carries me rather to the other extreme, to trust everybody. Yet I will venture to take the best means I can in that little business you write of. It is true, there is a lawful, yea, a needful diligence in such things : but, alas ! how poor are they to the portion of believers where our treasure is. " The little that was in Mr E.'s hands hath failed me ; but I shall either have no need of it, or be supplied some other way. And this is the relief of my rolling thoughts, that while I am writing this, this moment is passing away, and all the hazards of want and sick- ness shall soon be at an end. The Lord be with you, and lead you in his ways." Ne^uubattle, Feb. 4, 1650. When Leighton visited England, and his recent loss was adverted to by his brother-in-law, Mr Lightmaker, who regretted that he had misplaced his confidence, " Oh, no more of that/' cried Leighton, " the good man escapes from the care and vexation of that business." " What, is that all you make of the matter ?" rejoined his brother-in-law, with surprise. " Truly," answered Leighton, " if the Duke of Newcastle, after losing nine- teen times as much of yearly income, can dance and MEMOIR. XI sing, and the solid hopes of Christianity will not avail to support us, we had better be as the world." It was not merely the loss of money that he could bear with such calmness and tranquillity : he could face death with equal composure. Some time afterwards, being in London, he had taken the water at the Savoy Stairs, in company with his brother, Sir Ellis Leighton, his lady, and some others, and was on his way to Lam- beth, when, owing to mismanagement, the boat was in great danger of sinking. While the rest of the party were pale with terror, and most of them crying out, Leighton never for a moment lost his accustomed se- renity. To some who afterwards expressed their aston- ishment at his calmness, he replied, " Why, what harm would it have been if we had all been safe landed on THE OTHER SIDE ? " In the habit of dying daily, and of daily conversing with the world of spirits, he could never be surprised or disconcerted by a summons to depart out of the body. On another occasion he was anxious to visit his bro- ther, who bore arms in the king's service. On his way to the camp he was benighted in the midst of a dense forest, and having deviated from the path he sought in vain for an outlet. Almost spent with fatigue and hun- ger, he began to think his situation desperate, and dis- mounting, he spread his cloak upon the ground, and knelt down to pray. He calmly resigned his soul to God, entreating, however, that if it were not the Divine pleasure for him then to conclude his days, some way of deliverance might be opened. Then remounting his horse, he threw the reins upon its neck, and the animal left to itself, or rather to the care of Providence, threaded XII MEMOIR. all the mazes of the wood, and made straight into the high road. The uncompromising fidelity with which Leighton exposed and denounced the sins and vices of the times, at length made his residence at Newbattle a very un- comfortable one, and he resigned his pastoral charge there in the year 1652. It is probable that the spirit of conciliation and mutual concession which prompted him to secede from the extreme covenanting party, and to advocate the adoption of a modified Episcopacy, had something to do with this step. In the following year he was elected Principal of the University of Edinburgh, a post for which he was admirably qualified. He lectured in Latin once a week, on some theological subject, to the students, and at stated intervals preached to them in the College Chapel. Multitudes who were not members of the University flocked to listen to his prelections, attracted by the singular purity and elevation of his style, the nobleness and grandeur of his thoughts, and his own modest dignity and grace. Some translations from these lectures and discourses will be found in the present volume. Whilst Leighton was Principal of the University, Cromwell died, Charles the Second was restored to the throne of his ancestors, and the ascendancy of the Puri- tan party came to an end. Charles, before his accession, had sworn to maintain the Presbyterian form of church government in Scotland. But it soon became evident that no oaths, however sacred, and no engagements, how- ever binding, could control the king, who very speedily took steps to force Episcopacy upon his Scotch subjects. He found a ready tool in Sharpe, who, though one of the Commissioners of the Presbyterians to the king, was MEMOIR. Xlll persuaded to desert his own party, and received as his reward the archbishopric of St Andrews, and the Pri- macy of Scotland. Sharpe likewise nominated three of the new bishops. A fourth was wanting/ The king's advisers fixed upon Leighton, feeling that his reputation , for learning, piety, moderation, and candour, would do much to promote their schemes. This is not the place in which to pronounce an opinion upon Leighton' s ulti- mate acceptance of the office which was thrust upon him. It must suffice to say that he long refused the appointment, and very speedily resigned it. It was only when Charles laid his absolute commands upon him that he reluctantly consented to accept the unwelcome honour. He submitted to the king's peremptory order, in the hope that he might carry forward some measures of conciliation, which, by modifying the extreme pre- tensions of the opposite parties, should unite both. How soon his amiable illusion vanished we need not say. Whilst the matter was yet pending, he wrote the follow- ing letter to a friend, which will illustrate his state of feeling at the time. "My DEAR FRIEND, " I have received from you the kindest letter that ever you wrote me, and that you may know I take it so, I return you the free and friendly advice never to judge any man before you hear him, nor any business by one side of it. Were you here to see the other, I am confident your thoughts and mine would be the same. You have both too much knowledge of me and too much charity, to think that either such little contemptible scraps of honour or riches sought in that part of the world with so much reproach, or any human complacency in the world, will be admitted to decide so grave a question, or that I should sell (to speak no higher) the very sensua 1 pleasure of my retirement for a rattle, far less deliberately do anything that I judge offends God. For the offence of good people, in cases indifferent in themselves, but not accounted so by them, whatsoevei you do or do not, you shall offend some good people on the one side or other. And for those with you, the b XIV MEMOIR. great fallacy in this business is, that they have misreckoned them- selves in taking my silence and their zeal to have been consent and participation j which, how great a mistake it is, few know better or so well as yourself. And the truth is, I did see approaching an in- evitable necessity to strain with them in divers practices, in what station soever remaining in Britain ; and to have escaped further off (which hath been in my thoughts) would have been the greatest scandal of all. And what will you say, if there be in this thing somewhat of that you mention, and would allow of reconciling the devout on different sides, and of enlarging those good souls you meet with from their little fears, though possibly with little success ? Yet the design is commendable, pardonable at least. However, one comfort I have, that in what is pressed on me there is the least of my own choice, yea. on the contrary, the strongest aversion that ever I had to anything in my life : the difficulty, in short, lies in a necessity of either owning a scruple which I have not, or the rudest disobedience to authority that may be. The truth is, I am yet importuning and struggling for a liberation, and look upward for it ; but, whatsoever be the issue, I look beyond it and this weary, weary, wretched life, through which the Hand I have resigned it to, I trust, will lead me in the path of his own choosing 5 and, so that I may please Him, I am satisfied. I hope, if ever we meet, you will find me in the love of solitude and a devout life. " Your unaltered brother and friend, < R. L." On the I5th of December,, 1651,, the new bishops were publicly consecrated in Westminster Abbey, Leia'h- ton being appointed to the See of Dunblane. The religious service was followed by a banquet, at which Leighton was very ill at ease, and openly testified his aversion to the jollity and revelry which succeeded the sacred ceremony. Soon afterwards the new prelates set out for Scotland, all travelling together in one large coach. Leighton, speaking of the journey to Burnet, said that (( he believed his companions were weary of him, for he was very weary of them." Finding that they proposed to make a public entrance into Edinburgh, he left them at Morpeth, and proceeded at once in the most private and unostentatious manner to Dunblane. MEMOIR. XV He retained enough of Presbyterian simplicity and plain- ness to refuse the title of Lord, and almost the only time in which he took his seat in Parliament was when he did so in order to protest against the persecutions to which the Presbyterians were exposed, and to urge moderation and lenity towards them. We need hardly say that so far as his personal influence extended, these tolerant principles prevailed, though he failed in his attempts to impress them upon the Government. With- in his own diocese no person suffered for his religious opinions. He constantly met the Presbyterian clergy in conference, and not unfrequently heard them preach. His labours were incessant. He preached every Lord's day, preferring to do so to small village con- gregations. When any of the churches of his diocese were vacant he frequently supplied their pulpits himself, and visited chem all once a year, instructing the ignorant, condoling the sick and afflicted, and relieving the wants of the poor. He was most assiduous in watching over the clergy under his charge and in aiding them in their responsible work. For himself, he had always desired the smallest cure ; partly from his humility, and partly from an apprehension, so lively as to be almost terrible, of the account which must be given in by spiritual overseers at the great tribunal. Often would he com- miserate those of the London clergy, the extent of whose cures made it impracticable to pay to each individual of their flock the attention that his soul required. a Were I again/' he said in his last retirement, " to be a parish minister, I must follow sinners to their houses, and even to their alehouses." As one of the faults imputed to the Episcopal clergy was unskilfulness in preaching, he was solicitous to remove from his own diocese all colour for this allegation. This he knew could never be effected XVI MEMOIR. until the pulpits were filled by holy men. " It is vain," he would say, " for any one to speak of divine things without something of divine affections. An ungodly clergyman must feel weary when preaching godliness, and will hardly preach it persuasively. He has not been able to prevail on himself to be holy, and no marvel if he fail of prevailing upon others. In truth, he is in great danger of becoming hardened against religion by the frequent inculcation of it, if it fail of melting him." We have seen that Leighton accepted the bishopric in the hope of being able to bring about some scheme of comprehension which should unite all parties in one church, or, if that failed, of introducing such measures of conciliation as to allay the bitterness of the strife be- tween the Presbyterians and Episcopalians. He soon found, however, that all such hopes were vain. The persecutions grew more ruthless, and, by a very natural reaction, the persecuted grew more violent in their hos- tility to the dominant party. As is not uncommon to peacemakers, Leighton found himself an object of sus- picion and aversion to both parties the Episcopalians regarded him as a traitor, the Presbyterians as an apostate. At length, wearied with his futile endeavours, disap- pointed and almost broken-hearted at finding all his efforts to put things in a better train quite ineffectual, Leighton thought that he should be justified in laying down the charge which he had taken up, not as a dig- nity, but as a cross and a burden. He resolved, how- ever, to go up to London in the first instance, and to lay before the royal eye, which had hitherto been deluded with fallacious representations, a faithful picture of the distempered and convulsed state of Scotland. Having MEMOIR. Xvil obtained an interview with the king, he declared that the severities practised upon objectors to the new estab- lishment were such as his conscience could not justify, even for the sake of planting Christianity in a heathen land, much less could he agree to them for an end so comparatively insignificant as that of substituting one form of ecclesiastical government for another. He therefore besought permission to resign his bishopric, lest by retaining it he should seem to be a party to violent practices at which his principles and feelings revolted. His Majesty professed disapprobation of the manner in which the affairs of the church were administered bv Sharpe, and seemed touched by the pathetic arguments of the advocate of toleration. He pledged himself to stop that application of the secular sword, against which Leighton protested, and he actually annulled the eccle- siastical commission which endeavoured to goad Dis- senters into conformity by fines, and gaols, and corporal punishments. But he would not hear of Leighton' s vacating his see, and the bishop consented at length to retain it, as he could not be ignorant that, by persisting in his purpose of retirement, he would throw away every chance of holding the king to those engagements into which he had just been impelled. It was, however, with a heavy heart that Leighton returned to his diocese and consented for some time longer to bear his cross. Though longing for repose, he would not seek it by any base desertion of the post of duty. And so he con- tinued to labour for his Master " in word and doctrine/' and by the far nobler eloquence of a devout and holy life. If he had placed any reliance in the king's promises he was again doomed to disappointment, for they were for- gotten almost as soon as uttered. Persecution became XV1U MEMOIR. more rife and bitter than ever. The " oppression which maketh a wise man mad " was goading the Scotch peo- ple into open rebellion, and in the year 1666 they took up arms against the Government. Though the insurrec- tion was crushed at the battle of Pentland Hills, the bitter feeling remained undiminished ; discontent was only silenced, not allayed. In the west of Scotland sedition was especially active, and numerous partial risings of the people took place. These were suppressed with great and unnecessary violence, which only tended to make the breach yet wider. At this crisis the arch- bishopric of Glasgow fell vacant. It was at once felt that Leighton was the only man to fill the vacant post and to allay the prevalent discontent. The king ordered him to come up to court for the purpose of overcoming the scru- ples he was known to entertain, and he was allowed to sub- mit for the royal consideration a scheme of accommoda- tion between the Presbyterians and Episcopalians, which for years had been the object of his desires and the subject of his studies. Charles examined the scheme, or pre- tended to do so, expressed his approval of it, and pro- mised Leighton his aid and sanction in carrying it into effect. " Hoping against hope," Leighton consented to accept the archbishopric on these terms, resolved to leave no means untried for bringing about a union of the contending parties. But a combination of causes rendered the scheme abortive. Both parties were too much exasperated, and were too jealous of each other, to yield a single point: and there is reason to believe that whilst the king gave Leighton his outward sanction he sent secret instructions to counteract his proceedings. And so the scheme of comprehension came to nothing. Much incidental good was done, however, by the pacific and conciliatory course of the new archbishop arid by the conferences which he held with the Presbvterian MEMOIR. XIX ministers at Glasgow, Paisley, and Edinburgh. But he failed in his great object. An Episcopacy introduced and maintained by military violence was not likely to be acceptable to the people. Besides which the Presby- terians believed that Leighton was the only bishop, almost the only man in office, who was cordial or even sincere in the proposals which were made. They had been deceived so often that they had become incredulous. It is most affecting to read the narrative of Leighton' s labours at this period. Sometimes we find him con- tending with Sharpe and the ultra-Episcopalians, who were bitterly opposed to any concessions ; then he turned to the ultra- Presbyterians, who were equally obstinate in maintaining the minutest details of their own system ; then we find him vainly endeavouring to induce the royal commissioners to adopt a more conciliatory policy, and put a stop to the atrocities and cruelties of military rule. Meanwhile he did not neglect his own specific duties, but was unwearied in his efforts to promote true godliness in his diocese, and especially amongst his clergy. He preached incessantly, urging his hearers to a devout and holy life as the best remedy for the evils of the times. He exhorted the clergy to look up to God for guidance and strength and grace for the due discharge of their duties, besought them to lay aside all thoughts of ambition and revenge, to humble themselves before God, and by fasting and prayer to seek a blessing upon their labours. " This," says Bishop Burnet, " was a new strain to the clergy they had nothing to say against it, but it was a comfortless doctrine to them. There was no quartering of soldiers and no levying of fines on the mal- contents, so they went home as little edified with their new bishop as he was with them/ 5 At length even Leighton's hope and faith succumbed to the insuperable XX MEMOIR. difficulties he encountered, and he abandoned his enter- prise in despair. Under these circumstances he again resolved to re- sign his office and to devote his remaining days to the exercises of private devotion. He announced his deter- mination to his sister, Mrs Lightmaker, in a letter, from which the following is an extract : " Our joint business is to die daily to this world and self, that what little remains of our life we may live to Him that died for us. For myself, to what purpose is it that I tell you that I grow old and sickly ? And though I have here great retirement, yet I am still panting after a retreat from this place, and all public charge, and next, to rest in the grave. It is the most pressing desire I have of anything in the world, and, if it might be, near to you. But our heavenly Father, we quietly resigning all to him, both knows and will do what is best." About the same time he wrote to the Synod of Glasgow expressing the same intention. The conclud- ing paragraphs of this letter are in the following words : " As for the confusions and contentions that still abound and increase in the church, and threaten to undo it, I think our wisdom will be to cease from man, and look for no help till we look more upwards, and dispute and discourse less, and fast and pray more, and so draw down our relief from the God of order and peace, who made the heavens and the earth. " Concerning myself I have nothing to say, but humbly to en- treat you to pass by the many failings and weaknesses you may have perceived in me during my abode amongst you j and if in anything I have injured or offended you, or any of you, in the management of my public charge or in private converse, I do sincerely beg your pardon ; though I cannot make any requital in that kind, for I do not know of anything towards me from any of you that needs a pardon in the least, you having generally paid mt more kindness and respect than a much better or wiser man could either have expected or deserved. Nor am I only a suitor for your pardon, but for the MEMOIR. XXI addition of a further chanty, and that so great a one, that I have nothing to plead for it but that I need it much your prayers. And I am hopeful, as to that, to make you some little, though very dis- proportionate, return ; for whatsoever becomes of me (through the help of God) while I live you shall be no one day of my life for- gotten by " Your most unworthy, but most affectionate " Brother and Servant, " R. LEIGHTON." He now proceeded to London to press his resigna- tion upon the king. Charles, who knew Leighton's value, for a time refused to accept it, and used all means in his power to induce him to change his purpose, but in vain. At length the king gave way so far as to consent to his retirement, if at the expiration of the year he still desired it, and gave him a written engage- ment to that effect. With this Leighton was forced to be content, and returned to Glasgow, to fulfil the period of service required of him, saying that now there was " only one painful stage between him and rest." The year passed slowly and wearily away. At its close he immediately proceeded to London, and, to the joy of his heart, found himself at length free from the trammels which had weighed so heavily upon him. His sister, Mrs Lightmaker, was now a widow, living with an only son in the mansion of her late husband at Broadhurst in Sussex. Her spirit was congenial with his own ; and young Lightmaker was a dutiful son and a respectful nephew. In the bosom of his sister's family Leighton found a retreat provided for him by his hea- venly Father, and he entered it with a grateful spirit. He lived in great privacy, spending his time in study, devotion, and works of charity. He preached much in the neighbouring villages, and his labours were eminently blessed. He saw very little company and scarcely visited XX11 MEMOIR. at all, except amongst the poor and the afflicted. He seldom inquired after public affairs, and seemed dead to the world. One of his chief pleasures was epistolary correspondence with a few chosen friends on practical and experimental religion. Many anecdotes remain of this period of his life which admirably illustrate his character. We subjoin a few of them. One Sunday the weather was very bad ; the archbishop moreover felt very unwell. Most people would have thought these good reasons for staying away from church. Leighton, however, settled in his own mind that he would go. He said that if the day had been fine he would allow his ill health to keep him at home, but since it was bad he must go : " lest I be thought to countenance by my example the irreligious practice of letting trivial hindrances keep us back from public worship/-' He used to lament that ordinary Christians did not strive to attain to greater heights of holiness, and were so often content to be " low and stunted vines." We have another story of Leighton and the weather. " It is extremely severe," said his sister to him one day, speaking of the season. The good man only said in reply, " But thou, O God, hast made summer and winter." " You have been to hear a sermon," said some one to him. " I have met a sermon," was the answer, "'for I met a corpse; and rightly and properly are the funeral rites performed when the living lay it to heart." Thus was his con- versation in heaven, and all the passing incidents of the world became transfigured with celestial light. Let it not be thought, however, that Leighton was a gloomy ascetic. He could sometimes indulge in a vein of quaint quiet humour. He had a ne'er-do-well sort MEMOIR. XXlll of young fellow for his man-servant, whose thoughtless- ness and idleness he bore with the utmost equanimity. We may be very sure, too, that the good Leighton did not fail to give him serious and solemn counsel. One day it so happened that this young fellow took it into his head that he should like to have a day's fishing ; he accordingly started off, locked the door, and took the key with him, leaving his master a prisoner. His occu- pation proved so interesting that he did not think fit to return till evening ; and all that the kind bishop said to him for the bad behaviour, that might justly have caused his dismissal, was, " John, when you next go a fishing, remember to leave the key in the door/' His consideration towards the poor was always very great. His liberality w r as boundless, and he reserved nothing for himself save the bare pittance which his own necessities imperiously demanded. One day at dinner when he was pressed to partake of a delicacy, he refused it. "Shall I eat of this delicacy," he said, " while a poor man wants his dinner ? " He compared pleasure to mushrooms, that require so much precaution in eating, that it is best not to eat them at all. One or two more of his sayings are recorded on which we shall do well to ponder. He was told of a person who had changed his persuasion, and his reply was, " Is he more meek, more dead to the world ? If so, he has made a happy change." There is a profound though melancholy meaning in this prayer of his : " Deliver me, O Lord, from the errors of wise men, yea^ and of good men." He used often to think of death, and often spoke of it, and never in a melancholy tone. His nephew even says that in illness his spirits rose to an unusual gaiety, and he would say that " from the shaking of the prison doors he was led to hope that some of those brisk blasts would XXIV MEMOIR. throw them open and give him the release he coveted." In a letter supposed to be written shortly before his death he writes thus : " I am grown exceeding uneasy in writing and speaking, yea, almost in thinking, when I reflect how cloudy our clearest thoughts are; but I think again, what other can we do, till the day break and the shadows flee away; as one that lieth awake in the night must be thinking, and one thought that will likely oftenest return, when by all other thoughts he finds little relief, is, When will it le day ? " The " day" for Leighton was not far off. In 1684, he came to London to visit an unhappy nobleman who was distressed in mind for his past guilt, and had desired to have the benefit of his counsel. His old friend Burnet, afterwards the celebrated bishop, was pleased to see him looking so well ; his hair still black, his movements still lively, his eyes brilliant. Burnet expressed to him the pleasure he felt in seeing him looking " so hearty." Leighton answered that for all that he was very near his end, that work and journey would both soon be over. Burnet says that the words made no great impression upon him at the time, but they proved prophetic. The very next day he was seized with an oppression of the chest, which proved to be pleurisy : speech and sense suddenly went away, and after twelve hours he died without a struggle in Burnetts arms. In speaking of death, Leighton used to do so with calmness and even with holy joy. He would compare the clod of clay with which the soul was encumbered to the miry boots which the traveller just lays aside when he has completed his journey. It was also a frequent re- mark of his that if he were to choose a place to die in he would choose an inn; for it looked like a pilgrim MEMOIR. XXV going home to whom this world was all as an inn, and who was weary of the noise and confusion in it. He added, according to Bishop Burnet, that the officious tenderness and care of friends were an entanglement to a dying man, and that the unconcerned attendance of those that could be procured in such a place would give less disturbance. It is remarkable that he obtained his wish, for he died at the Bell Inn, in Warwick Lane. Another singular circumstance is mentioned respecting his death. During the time that he was bishop he had shown so much kindness and forbearance in collecting his dues, that at the time of his retirement considerable sums were due to him as arrears. These were gradually paid to him, and were the means on which he subsisted. His last remittance was paid him about six weeks before his death, " so that" (to quote Bishop Burnet) "his provision and journey failed both at once." His remains were conveyed to Horsted Keynes, the parish in which he had spent the concluding years of his life, and were buried in the chancel. A simple epitaph in Latin marks his tomb. It is in these words. DEPOSITUM ROBERT LEIGHTOUNJ ARCHEPISCOPI GLAS- GUENSIS APUD SCOTOS QUI OBJT XXV DIE JuNIJ. ANNO DOMIJ 1684. ^ETATIS SVJE 74. Burnet, who knew him well, writing some years after his death, says of him : " He had the greatest elevation of soul, the largest compass of knowledge, the most mortified and heavenly disposition I ever yet saw in mortal ; he had the greatest parts as well as virtue, with the most perfect humility that I ever saw in man; and had a sublime strain in preaching, with so grave a gesture, and such a majesty both of thought, of language, and of pronunciation, that I never once saw a wandering XXVI MEMOIR. eye when he preached, and have seen whole assemblies often melt into tears before him ; and of whom I can say with truth, that in a full and frequent conversation with him for about two-and-twenty years I never knew him say an idle word that had not a direct tendency to edi- fication, and I never once saw him in any other temper but that which I wished to be in in the last moments of my life." After making allowance for the partial esti- mate of a friend, this is a remarkable testimony to the life and character of Leigh ton. That he would most earnestly and emphatically have disclaimed such a eulo- gium we may be quite sure. Few men have had a deeper and more humbling sense of sin, or cast themselves more entirely upon the pardoning grace of God, than he. Blameless as was his life before men, he felt himself to be guilty before God. He was saved, as the vilest may be saved, through Christ alone, who " is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." CONTENTS. PAGE PREFACE ... ... ... ... ... ... v MEMOIR ... ... ... ... ... ... vii SERMOiNS. I. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypo- crisy. Ep. of JAMES iii. 17. ... ... ... i II. Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chas- tisement, I will not offend any more : that which I see not teach thou me : if I have done iniquity, I will do no more. JOB xxxiv. 31, 32. ... ... ... 15 III. In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, and for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. ISA. xxviii. 5, 6. ... ... 29 IV. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God : for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. ROM. viii. 7. ... ... ... ... 41 V. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee : the remain- der of wrath shalt thou restrain. PSALM Ixxvi. 10. ... 52 VI. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings : his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. PSALM cxii. 7. ... ... 69 xxvm CONTENTS. SERM. PAGE VII. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 COR. vii. i. ... ... ... ... ... 85 VIII. I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart. PSALM cxix. 32. ... 92 IX. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. ROM. viii. 33, 34. ... ... 107 X. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, &c. ? ROM. viii. 35 39. 116 XI. Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save ; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear : but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. ISA. lix. i, 2. ... ... ... 126 MEDITATIONS, critical and practical, on Psalms xxxii. and cxxx. Translated from the Latin. ... ... 138 EXPOSITORY LECTURES on Psalm xxxix. ... ... 185 EXHORTATIONS to the candidates for the degree of Master of Arts in the University of Edinburgh, with Prayers. Translated from the Latin. ,. 228 SERMONS. SERMON I. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure ', then peaceable, gentle ', easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without -par- tiality, and without hypocrisy. JAMES iii. 17. " GOD doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil/' Gen. iii. 5, was the first hissing of that old serpent by which he poisoned man- kind in the root. Man, not contented with the impres- sion of God's image in which he was created, lost it by catching at a shadow ; climbing higher than his station, he fell far below it : seeking to be more than man, to become as God, he made himself less than man. He lodged not a night in honour, but became as the beasts that perish, Psalm xlix. 12. Ever since, nature's best wisdom is full of impurity, turbulency, and distemper; nor can anything rectify it, but a wisdom from above^ that both cleanseth and composeth the soul, that is first pure, and then peaceable. B '7 2 SERMONS. The wisdom that is from above, is first pure ; its gen- tleness can agree with anything except impurity : then, it is peaceable; it offends nobody, except purity offends them : it is not raging and boisterous. It is not only pure, being void of that mire and dirt which the wicked are said to cast out like the sea, Isa. Ivii. 20, but peace- able likewise; not swelling and restless like the sea, as is there said of the wicked. Nor is it only peaceable nega- tively, that is, not offending, but, as the word bears, pa- cific, disposed to make and seek peace; and as it readily offends none, so is it not easily offended. It is gentle arid moderate, and if offended, easily entreated to forgive : and as it easily passeth by men's offences, so it doth not pass by, but looks upon, their distresses and wants, as full of compassion as it is free from unruly and distem- pered passions. Nor rests it in an affected sympathy; its mercy is helpful, full of mercy and good fruits : and it both forgives and pities and gives. It is, too, without partiality and without hypocrisy. The word " without partiality" may as well bear another sense, no less suiting both with this wisdom and these its other qualities that is, not taking upon it a censorious discerning and judging of others. They that have most of this wisdom are least rigid to those who have less of it. I know no better evidence of strength in grace, than to bear much with those that are weak in it. And, lastly, as it spares the infirmities of others, so it makes not false and vain shows of its own excellencies ; it is without hypocrisy. This denies two things, both dissimulation and ostenta- SERMONS. 3 tion. The art of dissembling, or hypocrite craft, is no part of this wisdom ; and as for the other, ostentation, surely the air of applause is too light a purchase for solid wisdom. The works of this wisdom may be seen, yea, they should be seen, and may possibly be now and then recommended ; but they should not be done for that low end, either to be seen or to be commended. Surely, no, being of so noble extraction, this having descended from heaven, will be little careful for the estimation of those that are of the earth, and are but too often of the earth, earthy. The due order cf handling these particulars more fully cannot well be missed; doubtless the subject, "wis- dom from above," requires our first consideration ; next, the excellent qualities that are attributed to it; and lastly, their order is to be considered, the rather because so clearly expressed first pure, then peaceable, 8cc. I. Wisdom from above. There be two things in that : there is the general term of wisdom common to divers sorts of wisdom, though most eminently and truly belonging to this best wisdom. Then there is the birth or original of this wisdom, serving to specify and distinguish it from all the rest wisdom from above. Wisdom in the general is a veiy plausible word among men. Who is there that would not willingly pass for wise ? Yea, often those that are least of all such are most desirous to be accounted such ; and where this fails them, they usually make up that want in their own con- ceit and strong opinion. Nor do men only thus love B2 4 SERMONS. the reputatior of wisdom, but they naturally desire to be wise as tney do to be happy ; yet through corrupt nature's blindness they do as naturally mistake and fall short both of the one and the other; and being once wrong, the more progress they make, they are further out of the way : and pretending to wisdom in a false way they still befool themselves, as the apostle speaks, Rom. i. 22, " Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. " Our apostle, ver. 15, speaking of that wicked wisdom that is fruitful of wrongs, strifes, and debates, and that is only abusively to be called wisdom, shows what kind of wisdom it is by three notable characters, earthly, natural, and devilish; which though they be here jointly at- tributed to one and the same subject, yet we may make use of to signify some differences of false wisdom, (i.) There is an infernal, or devilish wisdom, proper for con- triving cruelties and oppressions, or subtle shifts and deceits, that make atheism a main basis and pillar of state policy ; such are those that devise mischief upon their beds, Mic. ii. i. This is serpentine wisdom, not joined with, out most opposite to, the dove-like sim- plicity. (2.) There is an earthly wisdom that draws not so deep in impiety as that other, yet is sufficient to keep a man out of all acquaintance with God and divine mat- ters, and is drawing his eye perpetually downwards; employing him in the pursuit of such things as cannot fill the soul except it be with anguish and vexation, Ezek. xxviii. 4, 5. The dexterity of gathering riches, SERMONS. 5 when it is not attended with the Christian art of right using them, abases men's souls, and indisposes them wholly for this wisdom that is from above. (3.) There is a natural wisdom far more plausible than the other two, more harmless than that hellish wisdom, and more refined than that earthly wisdom, yet no more able to make man holy and happy than they : natural, it is the word the apostle St Paul useth, I Cor. ii. 14, naming the natural man by his better part, his soul ; intimating that the soul, even in the highest faculty of it, the under- standing, and that in the highest pitch of excellency to which nature can raise it, is blind in spiritual objects : things that are above it cannot be known but by a wis- dom from above. Nature neither affords this wisdom^ nor can of itself acquire it. This is to advertise us, that we mistake not morality and common knowledge, even of divine things, for the wisdom that is from above. This may raise a man high above the vulgar, as the tops of the highest mountains leave the valleys below them ; yet is it still as far short of true supernatural wisdom as the highest earth is of the highest sphere. There is one main point of the method of this wisdom that is of most hard digestion to a natural man, and the more natural wise he be the worse he likes it If any man would be wise, let him become a fool, that he may become wise, i Cor. iii. 18. There is nothing gives nature a greater prejudice against religion than this initial point of self-denial. When men of eminent 6 SERMONS. learning hear, that if they will come to Christ they must renounce their own wisdom to be fit for his, many of them go away as sorrowful as the young man, when he heard of selling all his goods and giving them to the poor. Jesus Christ is that eternal and substantial wisdom that came from above, to deliver men from perishing in their affected folly, as you find it at large, Prov. viii. St Paul in the first chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians calls him the wisdom of God, ver. 24; that shows his excellency in himself; and ver. 30, he tells us that he is made, of God, our wisdom; and by him alone is this infused wisdom from above conveyed to us In him are hid the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, Col. ii. 3. And from his fulness (if at all) we all receive grace for grace ; and of all graces, first some measures of his wisdom, without which no man can know him- self, much less can he know God. Now this supernatural wisdom hath in it both specu- lation and prudence. It is contemplative and practical. These two must not be separated, I wisdom dwell with prudence, Prov. viii. 13. This wisdom in its con- templative part reads Christ much, and discovers in him a new world of hidden excellencies unknown to this old world. There are treasures of wisdom in him, Col. ii. 3, but they are hid, and no eye sees them but that which is enlightened with this wisdom : no, it is impossible to know divine things while God concealeth them. But when the renewed understanding of a Christian is once SERMONS. 7 initiated into this study, it both grows daily more and more apprehensive, and Christ becomes more communi- cative of himself, and makes the soul acquainted with the amiable countenance of his Father in him reconciled. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath de- clared him, St John i. 18. What wonder if the unlettered and despised Christian know more of the mysteries of heaven than the naturalist, though both wise and learn- ed ? Christ admits the believer into his bosom, and he is in the bosom of the Father. But withal know, that all this knowledge, though speculatively high, yet de- scends to practice; as it learns what God is, so it thence teacheth man what he should be : this wisdom flows from heaven, and a heavenly conversation flows from it, as we find it there charactered by these practical graces of purity, peace, meekness, &c. Hence I conceive may be fitly learned for our use, that gross ignorance cannot consist with the truth of re- ligion, much less can it be a help and advantage to it. I shall never deny that a false superstitious religion stands in need of it : " Not too much Scripture- wisdom for the people/' The pomp of that vain religion, like court masks, shows best by candle-light ; fond nature likes it well ; the day of spiritual wisdom would discover its im- posture too clearly. But to let their foul devotion pass, (for such it must needs be that is born of so black a mother as ignorance,) let this wisdom at least be justified of those that pretend to be her children. It is lamentable 5 SERMONS. that amongst us, where knowledge is not withheld, men should, through sloth and love of darkness, deprive themselves of it. What abundance of almost brutish ignorance is amongst the commons; and thence un- cleanness, and all manner of wickedness ; a darkness that both hides and increaseth impurity ! And if there be any that think to shroud unpunished amongst the thickets of ignorance, especially amidst the means of knowledge, take notice of this, though it may hide the deformity of sin from your own sight for a time, it cannot palliate it from the piercing eye, nor cover it from the revenging hand, of Divine justice. As you would escape that wrath to come, come to wisdom's school; and how simple soever ye be as to this world, if you would not perish with the world, learn to be wise unto salvation. And truly it is mainly important for this effect, that the ministers of the gospel be active and dexterous in imparting this wisdom to their people. If they would have their conversation to be holy, and peaceable, and fruitful, the most expedient way is at once to principle them well in the fundamentals of religion, for therein is their great defect. How can they walk evenly and re- gularly so long as they are in the dark? One main thing is to be often pointing at the way to Christ, the fountain of this wisdom. Without this, you bid them to be clothed, and clothe them not. How needful then is it that pastors themselves be seers indeed, as the prophets were called of old ; not SERMONS. 9 only faithful but wise dispensers, as our Saviour speaks, St Luke xii. 42. That they be able, and apt to teach, i Tim. iii. 2. Laudable is the prudence that tries much the churches' storehouses, the seminaries of learn- ing ; but withal, it is not to be forgotten, that as a due furniture of learning is very requisite for this employ- ment, so it is not sufficient. When one is duly enriched that way, there is yet one thing wanting that grows not in schools ; except this wisdom infused from above season and satisfy all other endowments, they remain common and unholy, and therefore unfit for the sanctu- ary. Amongst other weak pretences to Christ's favour in the last day, this is one "We have preached in thy name;" yet says Christ, "I never knew you;" surely then they knew not him, and yet they preached him. Cold and lifeless (though never so fine and well con- trived) must those discourses be that are of an unknown Christ. Pastors are called angels, and therefore, though they use the secondary helps of knowledge, they are mainly to bring their message from above, from the fountain, the head of this pure w r isdom. II. Pure. If it come from above it must needs be pure originally, being a main trait of God's renewed image in the soul. By this wisdom the understanding is both refined and strengthened to entertain right con- ceptions of God in his nature and works. And this is primarily necessary, that the mind be not infected with false opinions in religion ; if the spring-head be polluted the streams cannot be pure ; it is more important than IO SERMONS. men usually think for a good life. But that which I suppose is here chiefly intended is, that it is effectively and practically pure, it purifies the heart, Acts xv. 9 (said of faith, which in some sense and acceptation differs not much from this wisdom), and consequently the words and actions that flow from the heart. This purity that true wisdom works is contrary to all pollution. We know then in some measure what it is ; it rests to inquire where it is, and there is the difficulty; it is far easier to describe it in itself than to find it among men. Who can say, I have made my heart clean ? ProV. xx. 9. Look upon the greatest part of mankind arid you may know at first sight that purity is not to be looked for among them ; they suffer it not to come near them, much less to dwell with them and within them ; they hate the very semblance of it in others, and them- selves delight in intemperance and all manner of licen- tiousness, like foolish children striving who shall go furthest into the mire; these cannot say, they have made clean their hearts, for all their words and actions will belie them. If you come to the mere moralist, the world's honest' man, and ask him, it may be he will tell you he hath cleansed his heart ; but believe him not. It will appear he is not yet cleansed, because he says he has done it himself, for (you know) there must be some other, besides man, at this work. Again, he, rising no higher than nature, hath none of this heavenly wisdom in him, and therefore is without this purity too. But if you chance to take notice of some well-skilled hypocrite. SERMONS. II everything you meet with makes you almost confident that there is purity ; yet if he be strictly put to it, he may make some good account of the pains he hath taken to refine his tongue and his public actions, but he dare not say he hath made clean his heart. It troubles his peace to be asked the question. He never intended to banish sin, but to retire it to his innermost and best room, that so it might dwell unseen within him ; and where then should it lodge but in his heart ? Yet pos- sibly because what is outward is so fair, and man can- not look deeper to contradict him, he may embolden himself to say he is inwardly suitable to his appearance ; but there is a day at hand that shall, to his endless shame, at once discover both his secret impurity and his impudence in denying it. After these, there follow a few despised and melan- choly persons (at least as to outward appearance) who are almost always complaining of abundant sinfulness. And sure, purity cannot be expected in these who are so far from it by their own confession. Yet the truth is, that such purity as is here below will either be found to lodge among these, or nowhere. Be not deceived ; think not that they who loathe, and (as they can) fly from the unholiness of the world, are therefore taken with the conceit of their own holiness; but as their perfect purity of justification is by Christ's imputed righteousness, so likewise they will know, and do always acknowledge, that their inherent holiness is from above too, from the same fountain, Jesus Christ. The wisdom 12 SERMONS. from above is pure, this is their engagement to humility, for it excludes vaunting and boasting; and besides that, it is imperfect, troubled and stained with sin, which is enough to keep them humble. Their daily sad experi- ence will not suffer them to be so mistaken ; their many faults of infirmity cannot but keep them from this pre- sumptuous fault. There is a generation indeed that are pure in their own eyes (Prov. xxx. 12), and yet are not washed from their filthiness. They that are washed, are still bewailing that they again contract so much defile- ment. The most purified Christians are they that are most sensible of their impurity. Therefore I called not this an universal freedom from pollution, but an uni- versal detestation of it: they that are thus pure are daily defiled with many sins, but they cannot be in love with any sin at all, nor do they willingly dispense with the smallest sins, which a natural man either sees not to be sin (though his dim moonlight discovers grosser evils), or if he does see them, yet he judges it too much niceness to choose a great inconvenience rather than a little sin. Again, they differ in another particular; a natural man may be so far in love with virtue after his manner, as to dislike his own faults and resolve to amend them, but yet he would think it a great weak- ness to sit down and mourn for sin, and to afflict his soul, as the Scripture speaks. The Christian's repent- ance goes not so lightly; there is a great deal more work in it, 2 Cor. vii. u. There is not only indigna- tion against impurity, but it proceeds to revenge. The SERMONS. 13 saints we read of in Scripture were ashamed of their impurity, but never of their tears for it. This is the condition of those that are truly, though not yet fully, cleansed from the pollutions of the world by the spirit of wisdom and purity. What mean they, then, that would argue themselves out of this number, because they find yet much dross left, and that they are not so defecated and refined as they would wish to be ? On the contrary, this hatred of pollution testifies strongly that the contrary of it, purity, is there ; and, though its beginnings be small, doubt not it shall in the end be victorious; the smoking of this flax shows indeed that there is gross matter there, but it witnesseth likewise that there is fire in it too ; and though it be little, we have Christ's own word for it, that it shall not be quenched ; and if he favour it, no other power shall be able to quench it. You find not indeed absolute holi- ness in your persons, nor in your best performances; yet if you breathe and follow after it, if the pulse of the heart beats thus, if the main current of your affection be towards purity, if sin be in you as your disease and greatest grief, and not as your delight, then take courage, you are as pure as travellers can be ; and notwithstand- ing that impure spirit, Satan, and the impurity of your own spirits, vex you daily with temptations, and often foil you, yet, in despite of them all, you shall arrive safe at home, where perfection dwells. Wisdom from above is pure. Be ashamed then of your extreme folly, you that take pleasure in any kind 14 SERMONS. of uncleanness, especially seeing God hath reformed and purged his house amongst us : you that are, or should be, his living temples, remain not unreformed ; if you do, church reformation will be so far from profiting you, that, as a clearer light, it will but serve to make your impurity both more visible and more inexcusable. If you mean that the Holy Ghost should dwell with you, entertain him, avoiding both spiritual and fleshly pollu- tions. Grieve not the good Spirit of God with actions or speeches, yea, or with thoughts, that are impure. The unholy soul, like the mystical Babylon, Apoc. xiii., makes itself a cage of unclean birds and an habitation of filthy spirits : and if it continues to be such, it must, when dislodged, take up its habitation with cursed spirits for ever in utter darkness. But as for those that are sincerely and affectionately pure, that is, pure in heart, our Saviour hath pronounced their begun happi- ness Blessed are they that are pure in heart; and as- sured them of full happiness for they shall see God. This wisdom is sent from heaven on purpose to guide the elect thither by the way of purity. And mark how well their reward is suited to their labour; their frequent contemplating and beholding of God's purity as they could, while they were on their journey, and their labour- ing to be like him, shall bring them to sit down in glory, and to be for ever the pure beholders of that purest ob- ject : They shall see God. What this is we cannot tell you, nor can you conceive it; but walk heavenwards in SERMONS 15 purity, and long to be there, where you shall know what it means ; for you shall see him as he is. Now to that blessed Trinity be praise for ever. SERMON II. Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I ha